Joshua Wilson
Joshua Wilson is an unseen yet important character in the Rule of Rose game. He is Gregory M. Wilson's son and although it is certain that he never physically appears in the game himself, his bodily image, name, and spirit live on throughout the story. His death or disappearance affected his father's mental health to the point of insanity, and the actions caused by this mental illness lead to a violent end for all of the children at the Rose Garden Orphanage excluding Jennifer. Biography The real Joshua - Gregory's son The true Joshua was a young boy, and the only child of Gregory. Gregory was a poor farmer who grew peas. What truly happened to Joshua remains a mystery. It appears Joshua became seriously ill, and was often bedridden and unable do much of anything. It is said in Gregory's Diary that Gregory attempted to get his son out of bed to help him or play out in the fields, but Joshua was too sick and so Gregory did all he could to help him. Another theory is that Joshua was kidnapped, and that he was the child mentioned in the "Another Unexplained Disappearance" article. When Joshua either disappeared or died, Gregory began to feel completely alone and depressed. Gregory may have began experiencing hallucinations, believing that every child he saw after that event was his son. Jennifer - Joshua's replacement A blimp-like aircraft crashed, making Jennifer the only survivor of the crash. Jennifer was found by Gregory M. Wilson, who took her in and cared for her as his own child, addressing her as "Joshua," and having her dress in his son's old clothes. Jennifer did not mind this as she understood that Gregory was merely lonely, but she eventually became frightened by his behavior, feeling the need to escape. She eventually met a mysterious girl named Wendy, and they communicated with letters until Wendy set her free and brought her to the Rose Garden Orphanage. As soon as Joshua, as well as Jennifer were gone, Gregory went ballistic. Wendy - Disguised as Joshua The player does not find this out until later in the game, but the "Joshua" at the beginning and middle of the story is Wendy in disguise. Wendy's memory sends Jennifer through her suppressed memories to help Jennifer find the forgotten promise she had made to her. While Wendy's true intentions were to have Jennifer remember the oath, Wendy ends up helping Jennifer to remember the promise she had made to Brown. At the end of the game, Wendy disguises herself as Joshua once again, this time to bring Stray Dog to the orphanage in order to kill everyone in it. Joshua the Bear Joshua the Bear was a stuffed bear that Jennifer gives to Wendy after she rescues her from Gregory's house. Wendy names the bear Joshua, and in the "Rag Princess Sews" chapter of the game, Joshua the bear goes missing after it is stolen by Amanda. Jennifer is ordered to find it by Diana, and temporarily retrieves it before it is taken by Wendy dressed as Joshua, who states that she has grown rather fond of it. Joshua the bear also serves a symbolic purpose. Toward the end of the game when Jennifer discovers that Brown has been killed by Wendy, after Wendy runs out of the room, a glimpse of the two chairs at the top of the altar is seen. One holds Joshua the bear in it while the other is empty, representing how the friendship of Jennifer and Wendy has been broken, as Joshua the bear, representing Jennifer, is now, once again, all alone. Etymology The name "Joshua" means salvation. This fits in the story because after Joshua was gone, there was a lack of salvation, as Gregory went insane and massacred the children at the orphanage. Trivia *Joshua is the only child mentioned in the game that did not live at the orphanage and the only child to have one of his parents appear on screen. The only other characters to have their parents mentioned in the game are Jennifer, whose later reveals that her parents died in an airship crash, and Olivia, who can be heard crying for her "daddy" during gameplay. *Although his father is seen in the game, his mother is never seen or mentioned. It is unknown what happened to her. She could have died previous to the events of the game, or simply left Gregory and Joshua beforehand. *Much of the game shares similarities with Lord of the Flies. Joshua's role throughout the game can be compared to the Lord of the Flies and how it had talked to Simon, as Joshua talked to Jennifer. Category:Characters Category:Children Category:Male Characters